>> >> >>

Un-Bearable Trophy Hunting


	©iStockphoto
	The gentle black bear is a favorite target for trophy hunters.

Approximately 33,000 bears are killed by trophy hunters in the United States each year, solely to become a head on the wall or a hide on the floor—not counting the thousands more killed illegally by poachers.

Many states even continue to allow the unsporting practices of bear baiting and hounding.

Since trophy hunters tore a loophole in the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1994, more than 800 sport-hunted trophies of imperiled polar bears have since been imported into the country for living room decor.

Thus, bears are targets for trophy hunters the world over, but you can help by learning the facts [PDF] and asking for protective legislation.

Polar Bears on Thin Ice: Congress Considers Polar Bear Protection

As global warming heats up the Arctic, these iconic bears are not only scrambling to stay afloat, they're struggling to dodge the bullets of trophy hunters. Ask your legislators to support protection for polar bears.

Bear Baiting: Donuts and Bullets

Bear baiters use piles of donuts, carcasses or other garbage to lure bears into their crosshairs. Then they sit back and wait for a bear to arrive and shoot her while she eats. Ten states still allow this practice. Does yours?

The Black Market in Bear Viscera

A lucrative black market in bear gallbladders, bile and paws for folk remedies drives bear poaching in American and abroad. Ask your legislators to support the Bear Protection Act to protect international bear populations.

Hound Hunting: Hounding Them to Death

Hound hunters use packs of radio-collared dogs to harass bears and chase them into trees. Hunters follow the signal from the dogs' collars to where the pack has the bear waiting and shoot her down from at close range. Seventeen states allow this practice.

The Maryland Bear Hunt: Back and Worse Than Ever

After trophy hunters reduced Maryland’s black bear population to only 12 bears in the entire state, the animals were protected. In 2004, then-Governor Robert Ehrlich initiated a trophy hunt on the state's 500 bears, leading to the slaughter of more than 100 animals. As many as 70 more are scheduled to be killed in 2007. If you live in Maryland, please take action.

New Jersey's Bears: Protected Once More

New Jersey's bears were driven to the brink of extinction by trophy hunters in the 1970s. In 2003, then-Governor James McGreevey re-opened trophy hunting, resulting in the deaths of more than 600 bears. Since then, Governor Jon Corzine and the Department of Environmental Protection have stood up for the bears and canceled the hunt.

What You Can Do

Ask your legislators to support protection for polar bears. And if you live in Maryland, please ask Gov. O'Malley to cancel the state's cruel bear hunt.

Updated Nov. 13, 2007